Alvin Brooks: Official Website

We’re off to a 2-2 start. Rebounding from the VMI and North Carolina loss, we won our last two games at Rupp Arena. We now travel to Las Vegas to play in the Las Vegas Invitational, taking on Kansas State Friday night. We will play either West Virginia or Iowa on Saturday.

We have struggled early this season mostly with handling and passing the basketball. You expect these type of struggles when you lose three starting perimeter players. Particularly when those three handled the basketball 90 percent of the time, if not more. I like the makeup of this team. We’re long, athletic and deeper on the bench than last year. I think by the time SEC play rolls around, we will be a very good passing team. That will result in a good offensive basketball team. This team also will become better on the defensive end as the season moves along. I think we’ll end up forcing more turnovers, which of course results in easy transition baskets.

Las Vegas should be a fun trip, provided we play well. Several of our players' families are traveling to Nevada to spend Thanksgiving with their sons and to support the Cats. It will be a special trip for me as I'll get chance to spend Thanksgiving with my big sister Brenda and her family. She lives in Las Vegas. Also, the first guy I ever signed as a college coach in 1983, Tony Todd, lives there as well. It will be fun to see friends and family and play in a quality tournament.

While we’re hooping in Vegas, our women’s basketball team is playing in a tournement in New York City. What a treat for them. They will watched the Knicks play Lebron James and the Cavs at Madison Square Garden. Wow! What a game. Our ladies and staff probably were hob-nobbing with Spike Lee, Jay-Z and Beyonce'. We wish them the best of luck in New York.

Tons of hoops are being played right now across the country. It's a great time of year with the holidays, football playoffs and basketball. We’ll be talking about everything soon. Have a great Thanksgiving holiday!.

I hope you guys had a great summer. Our summer at Kentucky has been rather busy. We began the summer with several camps, including Father/Son camps and Elite camps. We also did something new at Kentucky this summer by taking our staff and hosting one day basketball camps in several cities throughout Kentucky. It was a lot of fun and we had hundreds of Wildcat fans attend each event.

Kentucky’s rich tradition and a long list of great players over the years, allowed for our campers to experience several great speakers at camp this summer. Also, many ex-Wildcat players made special guest appearances such as former NBA great Dan Issel, former NBA player and slam dunk champion Kenny “Sky” Walker and Rajon Rondo, starting point guard for the NBA champion Boston Celtics.

Congrats and good luck to 2008 NBA draftee Joe Crawford. Joe was the only draft pick selected in the second round by the Los Angeles Lakers.

Joe’s running mate Ramel Bradley recently signed a pro contract with Croatia. Ramel and Joe also both graduated this summer, another great honor for them!

We wish them well.

The school year and classes begin this week here at Kentucky. We’re excited about this upcoming season. All the guys returned to campus this week and we are ready to get things rolling.

We’ll start the year by watching our football team battle instate rival Louisville on August 31 at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN. Good luck to the football Wildcats this season!

GO BIG BLUE!

Bill Keightley, affectionately known as “Mr. Wildcat” by Kentucky fans, was associated with the Wildcats’ basketball program since 1962. Mr. Keightley passed away on Monday, March 31, 2008, the Monday before the Final Four weekend.

Mr. Keightley had just completed his 48th season on the Kentucky sidelines. Kentucky’s accolades while he sat on the bench were amazing. The Wildcats’ record over the past four decades with Mr. Keightley as the equipment manager was 1,113-351 (76.0 percent). During his tenure, he served under six head coaches - Adolph Rupp, Joe B. Hall, Eddie Sutton, Rick Pitino, Tubby Smith and Billy Gillispie. Kentucky has put 105 teams on the court and has played 2,588 games in its history. Mr. Keightley played a role in 57 percent of those games. That’s truly amazing.

In 1997, UK honored Mr. Keightley with a retired jersey. He’s one of only two non-players to have a jersey retired. Think about that. He has a jersey hanging in Rupp Arena next to the greatest players and coaches in Kentucky basketball history and he began as an equipment manager.

Mr. Keightley touched so many lives from every walk of life during his 81 years. It was evident at his memorial service. It had to be held in Rupp Arena in order to accommodate all the people that came to show their respects. It was also evident if you watched the “One Shining Moment” highlight video at the end of the National Championship game. CBS included a clip of Mr. Keightley walking down the sideline. He even made a big impression on the media. Obviously, Mr. Keightley was more than your average man. What made him so special and loved? What was the magic of Mr. Keightley? There were so many things.

Mr. Keightley had a unique ability to make every person he met and talked to feel like they were his special friend. Coach Gillispie commented to Van Florence, Mr. Keightley’s closest friend, that he’d felt like he’d lost his best friend and had only known him a short while. Van said that was the magic of Mr. Keightley. He made everyone feel like he was their best friend.

Mr. Keightley was legendary for remembering names, faces and details about people he had met - even if it were 20 years earlier. He would see people and recall their names, home towns and personal details about them and their families. He not only remembered players and coaches, he never forgot managers, janitors, waitresses – any and everyone.

One of the warmest and most powerful things I’ve witnessed in my player/coach career is the way Mr. Keightley was greeted by fans on our road trips. Everywhere we went people wanted to take pictures with him or have him take pictures with their kids. Many people wanted his autograph on their shirt or the sports memorabilia they brought. Every opposing arena we walked into this past year people were waiting to greet Mr. Keightley with open arms, a warm smile and stories down memory lane. Even the opposing coaches would make an effort to get a handshake and a hug from him.

Mr. Keightley was so kind and he had a huge heart. He gave a ton of his time for other people. There have been so many people comment how he helped them acquire jobs. Many of his managers, whom he referred to as “his boys,” talked about how Mr. Keightley helped them get a job by just making a phone call.

When UK played at the University of Houston in December a childhood friend of mine came by the hotel to see me. Mr. Keightley walked by while we were talking and I introduced my friend to him. That following February I went to Mr. Keightley’s office one morning and told him that my friend he had met in Houston lost his grandmother, the lady that raised him. I wanted to send him a Kentucky t-shirt to let him know somebody cared about him and to keep his spirits up. Mr. Keightley had so much going on to get ready for practice that I expected it to be several days before we could send anything. By that afternoon, Mr. Keightley had put together a care package full of Kentucky gear with a nice spiritually, uplifting note. No one was too small and everyone was important to this man. It was the magic of Bill Keightley.

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenges and controversy.” - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr

Our staff had the opportunity to experience one of the greatest sporting events in America, the Kentucky Derby. Activities began on Friday, May 2 as we attended the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs. For those of you like me, who had no idea what the Oaks were, let me explain. Oaks day is the Friday before the Derby. There are multiple races and the biggest stakes race of the day is called the Kentucky Oaks. The winner gets a $500,000 dollar purse and a garland of lilies. Much to our surprise it was packed with 100,000-plus people and it was just as big as the Derby. We saw a lot of celebrities like Smokey Robinson and Joey Fatone from the music group N’Sync. We had lunch next to ESPN baseball analyst, Joe Morgan, formerly of the world champion Cincinnati Reds. I met him as a kid when he played for the Houston Astros. I didn’t get a chance to talk to him because so many people were around him but I enjoyed seeing all of the people. It was a rainy day so it wasn’t a great day for racing but we had a great time nonetheless.

Saturday we woke up early and headed to Louisville again for the big event, the 134th running of the Kentucky Derby. It was a beautiful day and this was my first time to see the Derby in person. I’ve been blessed over the years to attend two NBA finals, several Final Fours, and heavy weight fights in Las Vegas, but I have never experienced anything like the Kentucky Derby. It involves so many different people from all walks of life. There were people walking around in shorts and t-shirts next to multi-millionaires in fabulous outfits. The clothes that were bought and prepared for this spring event were so fascinating to see. The colors and the hats the women were wearing were amazing and you rarely saw a woman without a hat.

I’ve mentioned earlier in my blogs how special Mr. Bill Keightley, our former equipment manager, was to me and all Kentucky fans. I heard the Derby was one of his favorite events and I got emotional when the horses came out and the band played “My Old Kentucky Home,” one of his favorite songs. As everybody stood and all 157,000-plus people sang this song, I got a warm great feeling. It was a great moment and one I’ll never forget.

I am a horse enthusiast and I even own two pleasure horses, a quarter horse and gaited horse called a Missouri Fox Trotter. Both horses are used for pleasure riding. Thoroughbreds are a totally different type of horse but it was a pleasure to see all of the beautiful animals. I got a chance to see Big Brown, the Kentucky Derby winner, and in my opinion he may end up being the first Triple Crown winner since 1978 when Affirmed won it. Big Brown started from the 20th post position and was the first to win in that spot in nearly 80 years. He also was the first horse to win the Derby after only three career starts since 1915 and he did it running away. He is big, strong, athletic, and appears to possess something very special.

Another great event in the springtime is the NBA playoffs. I watched the playoffs with great interest because one of our former players at Texas A&M Acie Law plays for the Atlanta Hawks. Also because I met former Wildcat Rajon Rondo, who plays for the Boston Celtics, at one of our games this last season.

Acie had a chance to experience not only the magic of the playoffs as a whole but the magical experience of playing in game seven. He told me that he felt the excitement of playing in the NCAA tournament while at Texas A&M, but the excitement of playing in game seven was 10-fold. Although they fell to the Celtics in the final game, I think Atlanta proved they have a young team that is capable of being playoff contenders for years to come.

You can read more about Acie’s playoff experience with the Hawks by checking out his blog on this website.

As I mentioned earlier, my next blog will be devoted entirely to Mr. Keightley, by far one of the most philosophical and wisest men I have ever met. I am looking forward to sharing some his wisdom in this blog.

Until then...

It has been awhile since I’ve written anything and a lot has taken place in the last month. Kentucky advanced to its played Marquette in the NCAA Tournament and lost a close game in the first round. Senior Joe Crawford was named to Collegeinsider.com Defensive All-American team and freshman Patrick Patterson was named to the Freshmen All-American team by CollegeInsider.com.

Then there was the 2008 runway to the Fashionable 4. To my surprise I was included in this year’s contest as a No.5 seed in the assistant coach’s bracket. Many thanks go to Angela Lento for doing a fantastic job with the pairings. A lot of my friends and family got involved in viewing the brackets because my son Alvin III, who is an assistant coach at Bradley University, also was nominated in the contest. It was all in fun, but now I’m inspired to buy new suits to step up my game for next year.

Part of my absence from writing was because of the death of our long-time equipment manager Bill Keightley. Mr. Keightley, or Mr. Wildcat as many fans called him, served the University of Kentucky athletics department for 48 seasons. I had met Mr. Bill prior to coming to Kentucky but did not get to spend quality time with him until this past season. After just one season, I felt like I had known him my whole life. Mr. Bill had a gift for making everyone feel like they were his best friend. I made it a point to talk to him everyday to just acquire his knowledge about life. I can only imagine how those UK coaches that were around him for years must miss him because they spent so much more time with him. One thing I greatly regret is not getting quotes from Mr. Bill to post on this blog. I mentioned to him that I had a website and I wanted his thoughts and knowledge about Kentucky and college basketball so everyone could read and learn from his experiences. I thought we would have time to write his thoughts after the season. Unfortunately Mr. Bill passed away the Monday evening before Final Four weekend. To honor him, I will soon devote a day to write about his incredible life. He was truly an amazing man.

Spring is here which means we are working hard recruiting for the early signing period and there are many changes in coaching positions in both college basketball and the NBA. Collegiate baseball season also is in full swing and our team at Kentucky is ranked in the top 20. There is a lot going on but I’ll write back soon!

“The great difference between men is sacrifice, in self-denial and fearlessness and humility, in love and loyalty and the perfectly disciplined will. This is not only the difference between men, but this is the difference between great men and little men.”

- Vince Lombardi, Head Coach who led his Green Bay Packers to victory in Super Bowls I and II.

After all the injuries and struggles throughout the year, our season ended with a bid to play in the NCAA Tournament. There was no question in my mind that we had earned the right to play in the Big Dance. Of course all of our guys were excited to hear the news as we all met at Coach Gillispie’s house to watch selection Sunday.

The SEC Tournament this year in Atlanta was the craziest 24-hour period I have ever experienced. Let’s recap. With 2:11 remaining in the game before ours vs. Mississippi State and Alabama game, I heard what sounded like a freight train coming through the Georgia Dome. I looked behind me and saw the scoreboard swaying above the crowd. The roof was moving from the strong winds outside and debris began to fall from the roof. A bolt from the roof even fell and almost hit me in the head. From my experiences growing up in Houston, Texas, I knew this was a tornado. People were starting to panic and rush for the exits. I’m thankful it stopped because another three minutes and it would have been mass chaos. Our Friday night game vs. Georgia was eventually cancelled and rescheduled for Saturday at Noon. We were forced to move to another site on the campus at Georgia Tech because the Georgia Dome was damaged too much in the tornado. Because Georgia Tech’s basketball facility seats just 9,100 only family members and our respective official parties were allowed to attend. It was a strange atmosphere for us.

We began warming up Saturday morning for our game and a young ball girl fainted under our goal. Our team doctor had to attend to her. Talk about overcoming obstacles. WOW! It was one obstacle after another. Not making excuses but the guys stayed up until 1:30 a.m. trying to figure out where we were going to play and what time. Although tired the next day and with our game starting at noon, we fought hard and lost in overtime.

Prior to the SEC Tournament we took the team to watch the Atlanta Hawks vs. the Houston Rockets NBA game. The guys loved it. It was significant for all of us because ex-Wildcat Chuck Hayes plays for Houston and one our former players at Texas A&M, and one of my all-time favorites Acie Law, plays for Atlanta. Our players especially enjoyed after the game when Chuck came into the stands to congratulate the guys on turning the season around. The dialogue between Chuck and Rockets guard Rafer Alston was hilarious. They were talking about everything from the shade of blue Chuck was wearing to Ramel's game against the University of Houston during the regular season. Both Chuck and Rafer came to watch that game. Our players also had a chance to talk to Acie after the game. Chuck talked to us so long that several Rocket players and coaches came out to ask him to stop talking so they could fly back home. It was a good night for us all.

We left for Anaheim and the NCAA Tournament on Tuesday and as things have gone all season, our flight was delayed an hour because of a gas spill at the airport. We finally boarded and are now looking forward to getting settled in and having a good practice Wednesday before playing Marquette on Thursday. Marquette, of the Big East Conference, is a No. 6 seed. Buzz Williams one of their assistant coaches was an assistant for two years with us at Texas A&M. It will be a tough game and they have a challenging team.

Congrats to Coach Gillispie for being named SEC Co-Coach of the Year. I’m proud to say that in the six years he has been a Division I head coach, I have worked with him five of those years and he has been named Coach of the Year all five years. He also was Coach of the Year in the WAC, the Big 12 and now the SEC. Congrats also goes out to Ramel Bradely for being named first-team All-SEC, Joe Crawford for being named to the second team and Patrick Patterson for earning SEC Co-Freshman of the Year honors.

Our story got even sweeter as the regular season came to a close. After beating Ole Miss at Rupp Arena for our 10th SEC win there was not much to time to celebrate, however, as our happiness was short-lived. We received another dose of bad news when we found out Patrick Patterson was lost for the season because of injury. After defeating the Rebels, Pat went to get an X-Ray on his foot because it had been hurting him. Much to my surprise, he came hobbling by my office with crutches and a cast on his foot. My heart dropped when I saw the big fellow like that.

Everyone took the news rather hard and yet we still had to practice that day. Needless to say it was not a great practice. The mood was somber and everyone was disappointed. Pat was not only a really good player but a big part of our spirit and energy on the floor. I think Coach Gillispie did a fantastic job of expressing to the players that we had a chance to finish out the season strong if everyone just did a little more. He challenged each player to step it up. If you average 5.0 rebounds per game, now you have to average 8.0 per game. If you were scoring 10 points per game, you now need to step it up to 15.0 ppg. A few days later we were playing at No. 1 Tennessee and the guys responded to that challenge. I thought the game plan was really good. Our guys played hard and we gave ourselves a chance to win. We had two three-pointers at the end to tie the game but ended up falling to the Vols in a hard-fought game, 63-60. Even in the defeat, that game gave us tremendous confidence that we could play well without Pat.

In my opinion, we needed two more SEC wins to give ourselves a great shot at an at-large NCAA berth and we had two games left. We went to South Carolina and won in Columbia. It was a very emotional day for the Gamecocks as they were celebrating their coach’s final game as the head coach and it was Senior Day. Our seniors, Ramel Bradley and Joe Crawford, combined for 55 of our 71 points in that game. We really have some of the toughest and most resilient guys on our team that I’ve ever been around.

Our final regular-season game was against the Florida Gators in Rupp Arena. It was a big game for a lot of reasons but mostly because it was Ramel and Joe’s last home game. What a great atmosphere! We played well and hit some big shots despite a slow start. Perry Stevenson played a huge role in this win with 18 points and 10 rebounds. The interesting thing about his performance is that prior to the game, he had two of the worst practices of the season. We were thinking as coaches that here we are without Patrick Patterson and we need extra help in the post. Perry was supposed to be the guy we are depending on and he didn’t practice well the two days leading the UF game. We weren’t sure if he was as prepared as he needed to be for that type of an intense game. To our delight he played as well as he has all year with 18 and 10 and hit the two free throws at the end to ice the game.

The win over Florida gave us 12 SEC wins and capped a great comeback this season for these players. Billy Gillispie and our coaching staff did one of the best coaching jobs I’ve ever seen after having to deal with injuries and losing early games in the schedule.

This has been a difficult and challenging season but very rewarding because our players and coaches have overcome many obstacles to have a great season.

In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway.
Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock.
Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it.
Many loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way.

Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables.
Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road.
After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded.
After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been.
The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the King indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway.
The peasant learned what many of us never understand!

Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.

We conclude a three-game homestand with Ole Miss on Tuesday night. The last time I wrote we were riding a five-game winning streak after a victory over Alabama in Rupp Arena. Then there was the whipping in Nashville where nothing went right for us. Vandy shot lights out and played fantastic. A great story came out of the game, however.

All the guys were disappointed, but I have never seen senior Ramel Bradley so down. The next day our assistant athletics director, Leon Smith, received a text message from former Wildcat center Nazr Mohammed, who now plays in the NBA for the Charlotte Bobcats. He wrote in the message to use all the bad feelings from that game and take everything the naysayers and critics had to say as energy to bond together and prove them wrong about our team. Nazr went on to say how many SEC wins he thought it would take to get in the NCAA tourney. It was a long, positive and encouraging message that he asked Leon to share with the players. That kind of support has been consistent all year from former Kentucky players. This is a close-knit basketball family. The former players really love their Wildcats no matter if they played last year or 30 years ago! It has been great to be a part of the Kentucky basketball family.

The Arkansas game created a great buzz because it was a nationally-televised game on CBS and both teams really needed the win. Also, our assistant coach Glynn Cyprien coached at Arkansas last season and of course the return of John Pelphrey, a former UK player whose jersey hangs in the rafters in Rupp Arena, was a headline too. John is now the head coach at Arkansas. The Saturday afternoon tilt proved to be exactly what everyone hoped it would be – a great game that came down to the wire with Kentucky coming out on top. Seniors Ramel Bradley and Joe Crawford took over in the final minutes and led us to victory.

It has been great to see A.J. Stewart and Jared Carter practicing better. I think their improvement has helped step up the game of Patrick Patterson, Perry Stevenson and Mark Coury. Not to mention the benefits of A.J. and Jared giving us significant game-minutes down the stretch this season.

Congrats to Mark Coury for being named to first-team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District.

I saw Magic Johnson and Charles Barkley talking on a political show on CNN, The Situation Room. It’s good see basketball players that have two different political opinions and who represent two different political camps, take an interest in something other than basketball.

But speaking of politics, I’ve never seen so much political involvement in sports. By that I mean Roger Clemens going before Congress, the New England Patriots being investigated by the government and Congress holding a hearing about drugs that will feature top names from all four major professional leagues, the NCAA and the U.S. Olympic Committee. The stakes are so high and so much money is involved in sports these days…is it really just a game?

Until next time, I’ll leave you with a quote from Thomas Edison, the great inventor. This story and quote is one of my favorites.

After Edison’s seven-hundredth unsuccessful attempt to invent the electric light, he was asked by a New York Times reporter, “How does it feel to have failed seven hundred times?” The great inventor responded, “I have not failed once. I have succeeded in proving that those seven hundred ways will not work. When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will work.” Several thousand more of these successes followed, but Edison finally found that one that would work and invented the electric light. FAILURE IS AN ATTITUDE, NOT AN OUTCOME.

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We began last week with the daunting task of playing four of five conference games on the road. We enter this weekend’s contest vs. Alabama at Rupp Arena having won four consecutive SEC games, including two straight on the road. How we won these games is a testament to the toughness, both mentally and physically, of this team. We finished the Georgia game without the services of seniors Ramel Bradley and Joe Crawford. Ramel, who was suffering from flu-like symptoms before the game, was listed as questionable but he decided he felt good enough to play. He was playing well when he got hit driving in for a layup in the first half. He suffered a second-grade concussion and received a cut on his chin which required stitches. He didn’t play the rest of the game. Despite Joe’s entire body cramping up, he was able to score the go-ahead three-pointer late in the game. He was so dehydrated that he even needed an IV after the game. It just shows unbelievable toughness to put aside your aches and pains and help rally your team to victory on the road. Without those two and Jodie Meeks still injured and unable to play, we captured wins at Georgia and Auburn. That was big for our team.

Speaking of toughness, they don’t come any tougher than freshman Patrick Patterson. In my 26 years of coaching collegiate basketball, Pat is the toughest freshman I’ve been around. After playing every minute of every game in SEC play, he comes to practice each day and plays extremely hard. Think about that. Most guys that log heavy minutes sometimes rest in practice or take plays off here and there. Not Pat. This young fella is got the good old-fashioned work ethic and he NEVER complains.

Auburn’s Dwayne Reed also is from Houston, Texas where he played at my alma mater Wheatley High School. During his prep career, I was a mentor to him and advised him academically. He has grown into a fine young man and I am so proud of how Dwayne has matured. He comes from a tough environment but the kid is taking care of business in school and on the court. Everyone at home is so proud of him.

Acie Law, our former point guard at Texas A&M and now a member of the Atlanta Hawks, came over to Athens, Ga., to visit everyone. It was certainly good to see him. After our Georgia win, Peter Warden, Chris Walker and I went to watch him play against the New Jersey Nets in Atlanta. The Hawks won and Acie had a career-high eight assists. It was a great game for us to see because another former player of ours and teammate of Acie’s, Antoine Wright, plays for New Jersey. It was the first time that two former Aggie players played against each other in a NBA game. Keep in mind that when Coach Gillispie and I first arrived in College Station, A&M had not had a first-round draft pick since 1976. Antoine and Acie were both NBA lottery picks. Texas A&M also was on a 17-game losing streak. Acie and Antoine were instrumental in helping turn that program around. To see them on the same court in a NBA game was very special.

Congratulations to one of my former heroes and mentors Guy Lewis for being inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame recently in Kansas City, Mo. Coach Lewis led Houston to five Final Fours and coached three of the NBA’s 50 greatest players - Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler and Elvin Hayes. Coach Lewis was always helpful in providing coaching tips and support in my 12 years at Houston, five as the head coach at Houston.

Our next three games are big as we play Alabama in the friendly confines of Rupp Arena, then travel to Vanderbilt and LSU next week. Wish us well. Until then...

If you can dream - - and not make dreams your master,
If you can think - - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same:
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with worn – tools:
Yours is the earth and everything that’s in it,
And - - which is more - - you’ll be a man, my son!

- Rudyard Kipling

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We are coming off a big week with two great wins. We defeated a tough Tennessee team ranked No. 3 in the nation at the time and then got a “W” over a well-coached South Carolina team on Saturday. It was our first back-to-back wins since November.

If you’re a college basketball fan you already know that Kentucky has struggled some this season with numerous injuries. A great example of our consistent struggle with the injury bug was finally getting Jodie Meeks and Derrick Jasper back only to lose senior Joe Crawford for the South Carolina game due to a foot injury. This team has learned from the early season struggles to adjust and fight their way through adverse conditions such as losing Crawford’s 16 points per game vs. South Carolina. So how do the Cats pull through this adversity? Perry Stevenson came off the bench and stepped up his game by scoring 12 points, including going a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line. He also grabbed five rebounds and played 36 minutes in the win.

Despite battling a knee injury all season, Jasper played 31 minutes while Meeks, who has been playing with a sore hip, played 38 minutes and contributed 13 points, five rebounds, and three assists. Tough freshman Patrick Patterson knocked down 22 points, grabbed nine rebounds and played all 40 minutes. And of course senior Ramel Bradley, playing as well as any point guard in the country right now, led the way with his second career double-double. He scored 26 points, hitting 5-of-5 from three-point land, and pulled down 10 rebounds while playing 40 minutes. Ramon Harris and Mark Coury also were solid contributors.

This is my fifth season with Coach Gillispie and since I’ve been around him, his teams always start playing well in conference play. In the second half of each conference season, his teams have shown great improvement. If this Kentucky squad does the same we should be a tough team to play against as the season progresses. I remember two years ago at Texas A&M, we started Big 12 play with a 3-6 record then ran off seven wins in a row. We ended the season with a NCAA tournament appearance, highlighted by a win over Big East tourney champion Syracuse in the first round.

Practice has been spirited and energetic while the guys continue to work really hard at improving their play. Bradley and Patterson in particular, continue to impress our coaching staff as they practice at such an intense pace. Obviously, practice is better and more competitive with Meeks and Jasper able to participate everyday.

Our road schedule is a tough one for the next two weeks as we play four of the next five on the road. The road swing begins Saturday at Georgia in Athens. We are looking forward to traveling there to face another tough SEC opponent.

There have been many obstacles to overcome in many different areas at Kentucky this season. As they say obstacles present many opportunities to improve your position and so I’ll leave you with this:

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January 24, 2008:

Thanks for taking the time to visit my official website. This is only the beginning. In the coming weeks and months I will be adding more content, which will include a regular feature from Atlanta Hawks rookie Acie Law IV.

I hope that my website provides you with a better insight into the game of basketball. I look forward to the continued development of AlvinBrooks.com.